Was it Good for You Too?

by Naleighna Kai

  Delvin and Amir had eventually found a respectful medium. They took a private meeting without her, and she nearly had a heart attack. She thought there would be bloodshed for sure, but they emerged from Delvin’s office shaking hands.

  “We cleared the air,” Delvin said as she approached them. “We both agree that we love you, but nothing comes before our children.”

  “I see why he was hard to shake from your heart, Tailan,” Amir said, with a seeming admiration for Delvin in his voice as he kissed her goodbye and collected Lali and Bela to take home.

  Tailan looked after him in stunned silence. Then she shifted her gaze to Delvin, who smiled and pretended to button his lips.

  One week after that milestone conference, Tailan had quite a scare. She almost fell back into the bath tub she got so dizzy. “Oh, no,” she gasped as she tried to level herself down on the edge of the tub. She waited for the room to stop spinning. Ten minutes later, she rushed to her bedroom and grabbed her cell phone and clicked on the calendar app.

  Damn!

  * * *

  The pregnancy test flashed positive like a neon sign three hours later. It told Tailan what her body already knew.

  She cancelled all of her appointments at work and made a mad dash to the family practitioner since her OB-GYN couldn’t fit in an emergency appointment.

  “Those over-the-counter tests are spot on accurate in most cases,” Dr. Taylor confirmed. “Our test says the same thing. I’ll do a blood draw and a quick ultrasound too.”

  Tailan absorbed those words as she reflected on her first pregnancy. “I had major complications with my first time,” she said.

  “I’m reviewing your chart, and I see that. We’ll start earlier monitoring due to your high-risk history.” Dr. Taylor gestured to the spot behind them. “Lie back on the table.”

  She did, but she held her breath for a spell.

  Dr. Taylor started the ultrasound and paused, frowning at something.

  Frantic, Tailan blurted, “What is it? What’s wrong with my baby?”

  She turned to her. “Well, you’re pregnant all right, but you’re not just pregnant—you’re very pregnant. This little guy has been camping out in your lower back. That’s why you don’t have a baby bump yet.”

  Well that explained why her lower back ached all the time. She thought it was the way Delvin had been handling his business—combining some of the techniques he had learned the night the three of them were together. She had been amazed, but mostly realized Delvin had upped his game because he didn’t want her to miss Amir for that reason.

  “Is the baby okay?” she asked.

  “The baby looks real good from what I can see. Take a look.”

  Tailan craned her head toward the screen and saw a tiny fetus sucking its thumb. Seconds later, she burst into tears.

  “Now, now Tailan,” Dr. Taylor soothed. “The baby is doing well. From these images, this little guy is holding his own.”

  “His?” Her eyes snapped up. “It’s a boy?”

  The doctor nodded.

  “I’m having a little boy,” she sniffled. “Jason will be so pleased to have another man in the house.” She chuckled then asked, “When am I due?”

  “A lot sooner than you think,” Dr. Taylor replied. “Tailan, these images reflect a fetus well into the second trimester. From the length of the baby, I’d guess you’re at least five and a half months pregnant, closer to six.”

  “Oh my God,” Tailan gasped.

  That puts the time of conception around…

  * * *

  Tailan called a private meeting with Amir and Delvin. The mistakes of the past compelled her to take a different path this time.

  “The last few months have been hard on all of us,” she confessed. “And yet, we have managed to pull off a miracle and stay together as a family—albeit a very forward-thinking family. But through all the challenges, we, as the adults of this little tribe of ours, have weathered the storms, made peace, and put all of our children first.”

  Both men looked at her, and each nodded or smiled in their own way. She went over to each man and pulled them to stand. She took their hands and placed it on her womb.

  “I’m pregnant,” she admitted.

  Their eyes dropped instantly to their hands covering her belly and her hand covering theirs.

  Amir turned to Delvin.

  Delvin turned to Amir.

  She waited, holding her breath. Neither man spoke. She couldn’t read their faces. Slowly they turned back to Tailan.

  “I need the two of you to love this baby no matter which one of you fathered it,” she said to Delvin, then looked to Amir. She dried her eyes and covered their hands again.

  The men nodded.

  “Now that that’s out of the way,” she said, giving them a megawatt smile, “I can give you the really good news.”

  Delvin’s head tilted to the side, while Amir’s right eyebrow shot up.

  “We’re having a boy!”

  “Thank you, God!” Delvin exclaimed with a fist pump that signaled his elation. “More testosterone in the house. Jason’s going to flip.”

  Amir chuckled at that statement and added, “A son is a blessing from God.”

  Tailan shared a speaking glance with Amir and gave him a small smile, which caused him to narrow his gaze at her and then nod. He understood her meaning without her having to voice it.

  She brought the hands of the men she loved to her lips and said, “And you both have been a blessing to me.”

  Tailan floated into their combined embrace. And for the first time in a long time, the gray areas of her life were filled with sun and hope.

  Naleighna Kai

  Naleighna Kai is the national bestselling author of the provocative novels: Was it Good For You?, Open Door Marriage and Every Woman Needs a Wife. She started writing in December of 1999, independently publishing her first two novels before acquiring a book deal with an imprint of Simon & Schuster and most recently a book deal with an independent publisher. She is a contributing author to a New York Times Bestseller, an award-winning author, and The E. Lynn Harris Author of Distinction.

  Naleighna works for a major international law firm and is the CEO of Macro Marketing & Promotions Group, the Director of Marketing & Promotions for Brown Girls Publishing, as well as the marketing consultant to several national bestselling and aspiring writers. She is also the brainchild behind the annual Cavalcade of Authors events which takes place in her hometown of Chicago. Naleighna pens romance, contemporary fiction, erotica, and speculative fiction and is currently working on her next novels: Rich Woman’s Fetish and Slaves of Heaven. Find her on the web at www.naleighnakai.com, www.thecavalcadeofauthors.com and on Facebook under Naleighna Kai.

  Naleighna Kai’s post to C.V.S. Class of 1984 Alumni Page

  Tribute to Derek V. Fields

  Saturday, I did two things that I never do. One, I attended my first home-going celebration since early 2000. Personally, it had become my stance that I won’t attend any funerals (not even my own :)). However, I came on Saturday to pay respects to Derek and learned more wonderful things about him through the eyes and the ears of the people who had more interaction with him than I ever have. No one is going to stand up at an event like this and say anything negative, but it speaks whole-heartedly to who he was that almost every single person had the same to say about him. His smile, his sense of humor, his love for his wife and children, his love of C.V.S. and especially the Class of 1984, his ability to resolve issues and help keep the peace, his love of House Music, (no one spoke on his love for sports--but we knew); his 35 year friendship with David Jones and Delvin Fuller that spanned the kind of moments that could land them in trouble and others that had “Pig” (Derek’s nickname) covering for them (or at least ONE of them) avoid the wrath of their parents.

  All of that says to me is that Derek had a game plan for his life. A game plan that included embracing everything and everyone that he loved. A game plan that didn�
��t include letting a health challenge sidetrack his goals. A game plan that included spending as much time as he humanly could with those that he loved. A game plan that meant putting his pain aside an attending the class reunion cruise, and other events where he could reconnect with people who had been a part of his life since we all came together at Chicago Vocational School in 1980. A game plan that meant showing up at the all class alumni picnic, wheeling his chariot through the grass, maneuvering through those tents to position himself in a spot where people could come and say hello.

  That brings me to the second thing that I sometimes fail to do--listen to that still small voice that encourages me to do something right then and there. As I sat under Q’s tent at the picnic working on an upcoming project, I watched as so many people surrounded Derek, you could barely lay eyes on him. I kept saying, “I’ll wait until the crowd thins out before I go speak.” Well, after a few moments, something said, “Don’t wait. Do it now.” I got up immediately, and went over to embrace him. It was the last time I would be able to. I certainly didn’t know it then, but the Creator knew. Saturday at the repast, I did something else inspired by what happened the last time I saw Derek. Before I left (I was actually on lifeline to complete Was it Good For You Too?), I made it my business to embrace every single classmate that I could. Why? I didn’t need that still, small voice to encourage me this time—Ilearned that lesson. I don’t want the next time to be prefaced by a statement, “Oh, I wish I had …”

  That being said, “I wish I had,” is not something I want to ever say about my life. That’s why I’m going to encourage each and every one of you, to stop putting off the things you want to do most in life. How many times have you heard people say, “When I retire I’m going to do X, Y and Z?” Then life takes them before they get to do any of those things? Don’t let that be your life. Don’t let that be your “I wish I had” moment. If it’s a trip to Paris, Africa, India, or Italy--wherever--GO FOR IT. If it’s going back to school to get that degree that had to be put on hold because family took a front seat--GO FOR IT. If it’s writing a book that’s been in your heart and mind all these years--GO FOR IT. If it’s a new job, losing those extra pounds, learning a new skill, going out to dance, sky-diving, playing an instrument--GO FOR IT. And if that still small voice encourages you to do something--don’t second guess--GO FOR IT.

  And don’t get upset when you see me out there doing my thing--writing, getting my books turned into movies, dancing, loving, living life to the fullest. Just come along for the ride--and we can both … GO FOR IT!!!

  Naleighna Kai,

  September 15, 2014

  Naleighna Kai’s reflection on C.V.S.

  Let me tell you how important CVS and my class was--and always will be to me. If it wasn’t for you all, I would never have finished school. While enduring sexual and physical abuse at the hands of my father and mother during the school year, coming to that building on 87th Street, in the heart of the South Side of Chicago, sometimes provided the only peace that I would be afforded. Interacting with members of my class gave me the only laughter, the only growth that would mean so much to me. No one knew what I was going through. I couldn’t voice my pain, pain was “normal”, but I also knew there was one place that I was going to be every single day where no one hurt me, where there wasn’t anyone there who didn’t respect my right to say, “No, don’t touch me.”

  There were times when I wasn’t fed at home (not because we didn’t have food, but because it was a punishment) and the meals at school or Malina’s hoagie sandwiches that she brought in as a kindness were the only things I was able to eat. I didn’t talk to anyone about that either. And truthfully, I’ve forgiven my mother—so I don’t blame her, I just wish I understood why at that time. Some of you read my books or posts on my FB page and how I told how my mother gave me away at birth to my aunt, my aunt killed her husband and landed in prison, I ended up back with my biological mother anyway--who was forced to adopt me in order to care for me--and the abuse was monumental). My father, I’ve forgiven him, too—as for whatever reason, when I ran away from home to seek his protection after overhearing my aunt making arrangements for my uncle to have sex with me, my father didn’t see me as his daughter, he, like my uncle, saw me as an extension of my mother--just another piece of ass.

  Through all of that, some my classmates, individually impacted my life with acts of kindness--a spoken word, help with school work, dealing with teachers who sometimes showed their human failings, classmates who went to bat for me when I was teased or humiliated by someone else, classmates who allowed me to be connected with them in some small way. The immense feelings of gratitude for those times will forever be with me. We’re adults now, and I’m sure our life experiences and choices have made us who we are today. Maybe, I’m the only one who feels like this, but I don’t have any desire to have my view of my class tainted in any way. You all were my calm in the middle of the storms of my life. I’d like to always keep it that way.

  A chance encounter lands NBA star Dallas Avery back in the arms of the woman of his dreams. A woman he hasn’t seen in years. A woman he soon discovers just so happens to be his fiancée’s aunt! But Dallas’ fiancee, Tori, isn’t ready to give up all that she’s worked for, so she makes him a shocking offer – go through with the wedding and she’ll still allow him to be with the one woman he now can’t seem to do without. Dallas will get a family, something her much older aunt, Alicia can’t give him. Tori will get the lifestyle she clamors. And Alicia will get the love she’s longed for all her life. Everyone will get a little of what they want… and maybe a whole lot of what they don’t.

  The details of the trio’s love life play out in the tabloids and on talk shows, making Dallas the center of an NBA scandal. And eventually, the doors slam shut on this open marriage and Dallas is forced to make a choice to end the chaos. But moving on is easier than it looks and by the time all is said and done, secrets will be revealed, passions will be extinguished, and everyone’s lives will be forever changed.

  www.naleighnakai.com

  Most women love a man in uniform. Perhaps even more when they take it off.

  Nine stories that are a little bit naughty and a little bite nice.

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